Scenario: Walmart

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging that it unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies. This is on top of other civil lawsuits against Walmart from states and city governments and individuals for filling opioid prescriptions.

As background, go to NPR's December 23, 2020, article on Walmart Is Latest Big-Name Company Embroiled in Opioid Crisis Links to an external site. You can also listen to this segment on this page.

Additional background information can be found at:

• Walmart's Statement of Ethics Links to an external site.
• Walmart's Global Ethics & Compliance Policies Links to an external site.
• Glassdoor's article How Walmart Builds Its Corporate Culture Links to an external site.

You work for Walmart's marketing team and are now on the marketing crisis team. You need to develop a strategy to address this issue.

Discussion Issues

1. For this situation, identify what you consider to be the main marketing related problem for this scenario.
   1. Add any additional research and citations needed to support your statements.
2. Recommend three strategic goals to address this problem. These should address both external marketing and internal marketing goals. Indicate the order of implementation for these goals.
   1. Analyze the pros and cons of your overall approach to your plan.
3. Recommend an internal marking implementation strategy that would fit the marketing culture of Walmart indicate the pros and cons of this approach.
4. Specify how you should evaluate your strategic plan success.